Perfectly
by thekatthatbarks
Summary: He was distracting. With every touch and look he gave her, she thought she would be overwhelmed with all her feelings. She resorted to repeating medical jargon in her head when she found herself wanting to reach back out for him.


Sakura didn't know when it had all started. When feelings of friendship turned into something else. Something more solid, something that made her feel warm inside, something that made her feel _happy_. It felt like it had all happened so suddenly and she was left stumbling trying to figure out when she had even tripped. But it didn't even matter _when_ it started. What mattered was _right now_ , the warmth on the lower of her back that was guiding her through the busy street. The chuckle and smile that caused her cheeks to turn a dusty pink. His eyes, weighted with understanding and looking at her with an emotion that was hard to describe.

 _He_ was distracting. With every touch and look he gave her, she thought she would be overwhelmed with all her feelings. She resorted to repeating medical jargon in her head when she found herself wanting to reach back out for him. The words helped her, they kept her from falling too deep, from losing her sense of reason and just doing what she felt. They helped her not dwell on her insecurities, on the fear of rejection. She'd been rejected before, many times, but something told her this time it would hurt so much more. There was so much more to lose this time, so much at stake. A friend, a comrade, someone who supported her, someone who always took her out to eat when she got back from a mission. _Someone who could love her like no one else had._

Her mind ran through different procedures, different poisons, simple biology. Anything else to focus on. _Blood enters the right atrium from the superior and inferior venae cavae, and the coronary sinus…_ Then, her mind went blank.

***  
He could hear her feet pad against the grass as she walked towards him. The sound of the weight of her body sinking into the ground. He knew it was her before she was even in sight and he couldn't help but smile to himself. When she finally reached him, she didn't say anything and he looked up at her.

She gave him a soft but tired smile when she met his eyes and it made his heart skip a beat. She had a smear of dirt across her cheek and even in a ponytail he could tell her hair was in knots. There was a spot of blood on her flak jacket and he could see the way her body moved sluggishly. He hadn't seen her in weeks and had missed her more than he'd expected. She must have just gotten back from her mission. She was worse for wear and looked completely worn out. But all he saw was the woman that he'd somehow come to love. She was beautiful with her loving smile and warm green eyes.

"I'm home," she told him simply with a shrug.

He smiled back at her. "Welcome back."

She dropped to the ground beside him and let out a deep breath as her eyes followed his back to the sky. She felt warm beside him where her arm brushed against his and it was so much better than the empty patch of grass from before. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out for her. His thumb stoked across her cheek to get the dirt off but only succeeding in smearing it more. She met his eyes with a small chuckle and raised her hand to rub at her face.

Shikamaru pulled his hand away with a raised eyebrow. "You should have gone home first."

She turned her head away from him and sighed. Her smile was faint and she told him helplessly, "I wanted to see you." The way she said it was like she couldn't fight the feeling and it made him smile.

He snaked his arm under her shoulders and pulled her close. He could see her light blush before she turned on her side and laid against him. He tugged the ponytail out of her hair and combed his fingers through her hair as he replied quietly, "I missed you too."

Her arm around his torso tightened in response and soon her breathing slowed as she drifted into sleep. He knew she didn't weigh that much, but somehow the press of her body against his felt heavy. Like his growing feelings for her weighed her down, anchoring her to him. Shikamaru didn't think he'd be able to let her go even if he wanted to – which he _didn't_.

When it finally happened, it was a lot less dramatic then Sakura thought. She pictured a romantic confession or maybe a passionate or panicked one. Maybe they would be in a fight when they finally admitted it. Maybe one of them was dying and said it with their last breath. So many scenarios had ran through her head, but this hadn't been one of them.

They had just finished lunch and he was walking her to the hospital for her next shift. When she turned to say goodbye to him, he surprised her by pressing his lips against hers. No words filtered her through her mind, no medical jargon and no excited squeals. She hadn't had a single thought as she kissed him back and simply _felt_ the moment. It was short and sweet and they could both feel the relief in the air that their feelings were reciprocated.

When he had pulled away from her, his fingers brushed her skin leaving her with a shiver. He smiled at her warmly and promised, "I'll come by after your shift to take you to dinner."

Sakura had felt her skin heat up and smiled back at him with a small nod. She'd watched him go, her eyes following his strong back as he turned the corner.

 _It had all happened so simple and easy._ She chuckled to herself as she went inside the hospital. _Well, it was Shikamaru after all, what did she expect?_ She didn't feel any disappointment from it, though. Because of who it was with, she thought it had happened _perfectly_.


End file.
